Manufacture of harmonicas



April 27, 1943; c. E. WETZLER ET-AL I 2,317,425

MANUFACTURE OF HARMONIGAS Filed Feb. 24, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l aka W Ap1943-- c. E. WETZLER EIAL 2, 17,

MANUFACTURE OF HARMONI GAS Fil ed Feb. 24, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 2 HHHHINVENTORS' (WA/P1 5 E. WE 7"ZL 52 PAUL EBOEf/M BY 4 T TOE/V5 V April1943- c. E. WETZLER ETAL 2,317,425

I MANUFACTURE OF HARMONICAS Filed Feb. 24 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTORS 0/9/94 55 5 WE 7'ZL 56 PAUL F. ,BOE/L/M 4 TTOE/VEV PatentedApr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OF HARMONICASnecticut Application February 24, 1940, Serial No. 320,646 In GreatBritain February 24, 1939 12 Claims.

This invention relates to musical instruments and more particularly tothe so-called mouth organs or harmonicas and to the production thereof.Harmonicas of the conventional type comprise, among other parts, plateswith a number of slots and a corresponding number of reeds individuallyattached to the plates so that each of said reeds can oscillateindependently within or through one of said slots. In the assembling ofsaid reeds to the plates, difiiculties have been encountered as theconventional means and methods used for that purpose are not at allsatisfactory and adequate for mass production.

The invention aims, therefore, to overcome such difficulties and toprovide a new method and machine whereby the reeds may be more or lessautomatically assembled to the plates of harmonicas with great precisionand effectiveness and great saving as compared with the prior art.

Further objects and details of our invention will be apparent from thedescription given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings illustratingthe method and an embodiment of the machine according to the inventionby way of example.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the embodiment, part of the top beingbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section along line 2--2 of Fig. 1 and showing onestation of the machine during one particular stage of its operation;

Fig. 2A is a cross-section similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a modificationof the machine shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section along line 33 of Fig. 2 of the same stationduring another stage of operation;

Fig. 3A is a detail view of the cut-01f punch included in the machine ofFig. 2A;

Figs. 2B and 3B are longitudinal and crosssections respectively of themodified bolster plate and gage plate of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 shows a portion of the strip material comprising the reed blanks;

Fig. 4a is a similar illustration of a modified form of a reed strip;

Fig. 5 is a top planview of a plate of a type that may be used inconnection with our invention; I

Fig. 5a. shows the same plate in cross-section and one reed above it intheir relative position as occurring immediately before the parts areassembled.

' In Figs. 1 to 3 100 represents the main table of the machinewhich, theillustrated embodiment, is provided to handle plates with ten slots. Thetable is of substantially circular shape and supported by bolts M0 on alower platform MI. In the main table IUD-there is a circular grooveadapted to hold rotatably an index dial Hll adapted to be turned inangular steps around the center 102. In the present embodiment twelvestations a to mare provided for the dial. In accordance with thecircumferentially disposed twelve stations there are embodied in thedial HH at regular intervals twelve bolster blocks 103 each beingadapted to receive, in a suitable recess of its top surface, a blankplate 104 in such a position that a series of slots 105 provided in eachblock are in exact alignment with the corresponding slots of the saidplate. Below each block 103, the dial 'llll is provided with an opening143, and the main table 100 has similar openings M4 at every one of thestations b to Z inclusive. A tiltable gage member "I30 is mounted onhinges 'l'3l close to each of the bolster blocks 103 so that it can beswung into engagement with the recess of the co-ordinate block 103 in away warranting that a number of slots 106 provided in the gage, will bein accurate alignment with the slots 105 of the respective block "33 andwith the slots 142 of a plate positioned in said recess of theparticular block 103. Ihe slots Hit of the gage member 130 are extendedat their one ends beyond the lengths of the corresponding slots E05 asclearly shown in Fig. 3 and such extensions are so formed as to permitthe application of a tool for securing the root of a reed to a plate 194as will be explained hereinafter.

The reeds may be attached to the plates by any suitable working methodsuch as welding, spot Welding, soldering or riveting. In the illustratedexample, rivets are used for securing the reeds to the plates, and moreparticularly rivets which are extruded out of the plate material proper.This is diagrammatically shown in Figs. 5 and 5a where opposite to theone end of each slot I42 of the plate 104 there is a lug or rivet H2extruded by pressure from underneath during the production of theplates.

The reeds H0 as shown by way of example in Figs. 4, 4a and the upperpart of Fig. 5a. are of conventional shape when finished and have arivet hole ill. However, in the production they are originally notblanked out completely but interconnected by a strip-like margin portionH3 as in Fig. 4 or by bridge portion H4 as in Fig. 4a. In either form,the reed material can be fed to the assembling machine as' comblikestrips, and only in the machine the reeds H are severed from each otherand/or the strip by a small out either along the dotted line H5 or thedotted lines H5. In the first case the margin strip H1, and in the othercase the small pieces H8 go to the scrap. Above the main table 108 andthe dial 10! a stationary platform 10'! is arranged on supporting studs132. The platform H11 carries in proper circumferential distribution tensub-press dies 108 each located above one of the ten stations b to l ofthe dial. Only one such die is shown in the plan view Fig. 1 on aportion of the platform I'M-the rest being broken away in order to showthe parts beneath. At the lower side of said platform 10! a means isprovided, in coordination with each of the dies 108, whereby the reedmaterial shown in Fig. 4 or 401. respectively may be fed to theparticular die. For this purpose, channel guides 109 are provided whichextend from the outside radially towards center 102. The channels arejust wide enough to accommodate the particular reed strip including themarginal portion H3, if any. As the reeds H0 move in the direction aunder the respective die 188 the actually foremost reed is brought to apoint where it is exactly in line with the corresponding slot 105 of thebolster block 103, actually being positioned at that particular station,and in line with the corresponding slot 106 of the pertaining gage I30.Again in line with the said slots 1'05, 106 the channel piece 109 isperforated vertically at 135 so as to permit a reed Hi! (When severedfrom the strip) to be moved vertically downward from the channel 109 tothe bolster block 103 or rather to the top side of a plate HM held inthe recess of the bolster.

Each of the sub-press dies I08 is intended to deal with one particularreed only. Therefore, the individual dies 108 are radially offset withrespect to each other in such a manner that the center line of everyother die will be in alignment with a different slot 142, H35, H16respectively as a plate 104 travels around stepwise with the dialmovement. In other words, while a plate 104 moves step by step fromstation I) to station Z each slot 142 in rotation will stop at thevarious stations in alignment with the individual dies 108. Forinstance, in Fig. 2 the die 108 is in alignment with the third slot 142.This is the case at station 0. At station (1 the fourth slot 142 may bein line with the respective die 108.

Every one of the dies 108 comprises a movable press-head TH and a punch123 rigidly attached thereto. The head 12! is properly guided by pins146. While the punch 123 is primarily intended to cut off the individualreeds H0 from the original strip, and therefore has substantially across-section matching the square heel part of the reeds, the head 121is in addition provided with a spring controlled hold-down 122 whosecross-section substantially matches the shape and size of reed tineproper. Thus, the holddown is adapted to penetrate through the slot 135of the pertaining channel guide 109 and through the particular slot I06of the gage 130. By a spring 14'! held and controlled through a screwhead 124 in the press head 12!, the holddown 122 is pushed ahead of thepunch [23 as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. If, however, the presshead 12!with the rigid punch 123 is moved down under a force y applied in thewell-known manner from the top, the hold-down will yield whenencountering any resistance.

Below the main table 'Hlll there is a plate H9 movably mounted on alower platform MI of the machine in such a manner that it may be movedup and down under the action of, e. g., a set of cams 148 controlled bythe same drive which controls the movement of the dial, the feedmechanisms and the sub-press dies. On plate H9 which extendssubstantially all around the machine below the dial 'H'H, ten plungers728 are fixed at regular intervals corresponding to the positions of theten stations b to Z, and radially disposed in such a way that eachplunger T20 is exactly below the corresponding hold-down 122 andtherefore adapted to fit into the pertaining slots 105, I06 and 142 of abolster block 103, its gage 130 and a plate 104 held therebetween whenthe dial 101 and therefore the just mentioned parts are in any one oftheir positions of rest. The arrangement is such that when the plate H9is in its lowest position the tops of the plungers are just below thelower surface of the dial m whereas when the plate H9 is fully raisedthe tops of the plungers 120 are level with the bottom of the guidechannel H39 as is shown in Fig. 3.

In practice, the machine operates as follows: The dial 10! is movedaround the center H12 in angular steps, in the present instance of 15each, so as to bring, by each step, each of the blocks 103 from one ofthe stations a to m respectively to the next following station. Duringeach stop of the dial 101, one new plate 104 is fed at a, in thedirection of arrow .1, into the block 103 actually being positioned at awhile a plate 104 completely filled with all the reeds H0 is deliveredat m; simultaneously at each of the stations b to Z inclusively, oneparticular reed H0 is being cut off the pertaining strip (that was fedto the proper point within the particular channel 109) and attached tothe plate [04 which just happens to be at the particular station. Thuseach plate HM while travelling around step by step picks up at everystation one more reed until all of them i. e. their full number has beencollected by each plate 104.

In detail, the operation is as follows: As soon as the dial 101 comes toa standstill after an angular step, on station a the gage member tiltsopen and aplate 104 is placed into the recess of the bolster block 103whereupon the gage closes again; on station -m the gage 130 opens andthe completely filled in plate 104 is taken out of the block 103; whilethe dial NH wasmaking its step of 15, all the reed strips at thestations b to Z were moved forward in direction 2 one step inside theindividual channels 109 so as to bring one reed right under theappropriate hold-down I22 and punch 123; now the plate H9 is movedupwards under the action of the cams 148 until it reaches the topposition and supports the individual reeds which have reached theirpositionsas just mentioned; then the force 11 is applied to all of thesub-press dies 108 so that the press-heads "III are moved downytherebyall the hold-downs 122 first engage the corresponding reed II-0'from'the top, press it on the top of the corresponding plunger 120 soas to clamp it while the springs 141 are more and more compressed untilthe individual punches 123 reach'the topof the reed heels (whichposition is shown in Fig. 3) and penetrating into the die plates cutsthe clamped reeds off its strips along the dotted line shown in Figs. 4and 4a, respectively; then due to the continued downward movement of theheads PM, the clamped reeds H are moved downwards also together withtheir supporting plungers 12B; of course, the plate H9 and the cams 141are forced downwardly as well, until the reeds 110 reach the level ofthe upper surface of the individual plates 1B4; thereby the holes 'Hl ofthese reeds are threaded over the upwardly projecting rivets 1 l2 andthe latter are immediately after that spread by the final part of themovement of the punch 123 thus completing the riveting operation. Afterthis, the plungers 128 following the cams 14! move further down intotheir position of rest shown in Fig. 2, whilst the parts MI, 122 and 123of the various sub-press dies 1138 move back upwardly so as to return totheir positions of rest also shown in Fig. 2. Now the dial It! may makeits next angular step.

The above embodiment is merely an example and many alterations andalternatives may be found. For instance, the relative movements of thedifferent parts and elements may be carried out in reverse arrangement,and the rotary movement of the dial may be replaced by the rectilinearmovement of a kind of a chain conveyor carrying the different bolsterblocks, the feeds and sub-press dies being lined up along the path ofsuch conveyor. Of course, every possible care must be given to theaccuracy of the different tools and gages incorporated in the machineand to the accurate positioning of the dial in the different stops. Ifthis is done, a great speed in assembling plates and reeds can beobtained.

A variation of the construction may also consist in providing means forholding the cut off reeds in proper position on their plate after theyhave been located there without attaching the same immediatelythereafter. Such means may consist in the application of suction to thereeds located inside the blocks 103, or in the application of magneticforce in case the reeds are magnetic. Then the reeds would be onlycollected on the plates during their passage through stations 1) to land then-on a further station to be cared forthe whole set of reedswould be attached simultaneously. This may be done by riveting orwelding or soldering or clamping. In some cases the threading over ofthe reed hole HI on a lug H2 with some frictional engagement willsuffice to hold the reed in position, the gage H16 contributing thereto.

If welding is desired the punch may be replaced by an electrode or maycomprise an elec trode.

Fig. 2A illustrates a press-head BIA with punch 123A as shown in Fig. 3but modified by a recess 150 at its lower end. This recess is adapted toaccommodate the tip of the lug H2 of a plate when the punch touches thereed Hi! placed on top of a plate 194. Thus the tip of the lug I I2 willnot be spread by the punch 723A the latter acting solely as a cut-off.This type of punch would be used in all the units 1) to I (Fig. 1) wherethe individual reeds are being collected.

Figs. 23 and 3B illustrate, by way of example, magnetic means forholding the cut off reeds H0 in place while the plates H34 in theirbolster plates 183 with gages H36 are travelling through the machine. Inthis instance, each bolster plate 103 is provided with a grooveembracing the total number of slots 105 and containing a number ofwires, four of which are diagrammatically shown in cross-section, whichform a magnetic coil that may be electrically energized from anappropriate electric source, not shown. In case the reed material ismagnetic, the reed or reeds will be held in place by the magnetic force,in which the adjacent parts of the plate 103 and gage 106, both assumedto be of steel, play their part.

The present modification of the machine otherwise corresponds to themachine illustrated by Figs. 1, 2 and 3, with the exception that stationm in this case not only serves for delivering the plates but also totake care of the final assembling. Therefore the unit 188A at station mis modified as shown by Fig. 2A. In general, only the parts differingfrom the unit shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are shown. Like parts are numberedalike. The press-head "IA is elongated and provided with ten solidriveting punches I23 and with ten hold-downs 722A guided in parallelslots and held conjointly by a common carrier 124A yieldingly supportedby the head 'IZIA through springs 141A. The punches 123 and 122 arespaced apart in conformity with the slots H36, 142 and 705. Underneaththe unit 108A the vertically movable carrier 1 ISA which is controlledin the same way as described above with reference to H9 in Fig. 2,carries ten plungers I29 individually lined up with the above mentionedslots. By operating the aforesaid modified type of assembling station,all the ten reeds H0 which have been cut off from the respective stripsand located on the plates W4 While travelling from stations I) to I willbe attached to the particular plate by one common stroke of the multiplepress-head 108A.

We claim:

1. In the manufacture of harmonicas, a ma,- chine for automaticallyassembling reeds and plates, comprising a plurality of bolster blockswhich are movable step by step through a number of stations and adaptedto receive in proper position one carrier plate at a time, to convey it,preferably together with a gage holding the carrier plate on the bolsterblock, to the said stations where the individual blocks, plates andgages step in alignment with stationary dies or presses for carrying outthe assembling op'eration; a number of slots, exactly corresponding tothose existing in the carrier plates, being provided in the bolsterblocks and gages; a spring loaded hold-down forming part of each of thesaid presses and being adapted to pass through the said slots and toengage a reed fed to a point in the path of said hold-down; at eachstation a plunger member adapted to pass through the slots of thebolster block and the gage (when stopped in alignment therewith) fromthe other side; the said plunger being adapted to engage the said reedfrom the opposite side and thus to allow a clamping action of thehold-down; a punch in each press, associated with the said hold-down andadapted to cut off the reed from its strip after the reed has beenclamped between the said hold-down and the plunger; the said hold-down,the punch and the plunger being adapted to move conjointly, and with thecut-off reed in clamped position, through the said slots of the gage andbolster respectively towards the carrier plate until its plane isreached, the hole in the reed root, if any, being simultaneouslythreaded by the punch over a corresponding lug of the plate, the punchbeing preferably adapted then to spread the rivet or lug by pressure orheat; and a cam or equivalent drive mechanism controlling all themotions of the above parts and bringing them back into their initialposition after a cycle of operations has been carried out at thedifferent stations during a stop of the conveyor part.

2. A machine as specified in claim 1, the punches of the individualpresses however being not adapted to spread a rivet or otherwise tocarry out an attaching operation, the moving bolster plates and/or gagesbeing equipped with means for holding the individual reeds in correctposition after they have been located on their plates, thus beingadapted to collect step by step the whole number of reeds on each plate;and at a last station a means for attaching all the reeds together by acommon operation.

3. In the manufacture of harmonicas, particularly in connection with amachine according to claim 1, the use of strips consisting of the reedscompletely out out except a connecting strip or bridge left between thereed roots.

4. A machine for assembling the reeds to .the slotted reed plates ofharmonicas, comprising an intermittently actuated carrier memberincluding a plurality of holders, each being adapted to receive one ofsaid plates in a predetermined position, and being spaced from eachother according to one step of said carrier movement, a plurality ofstationarily located devices for attaching reeds to a plate, the numberof said devices not exceeding the number of reed slots in each of theplates, said devices being operative and arranged along the path of saidcarrier member in cooperative relation each to one of said holders whensaid carrier member is at a standstill, and being staggered with respectto each other, so as to be in registry each with a different one of theslots of a plate in a holder when the latter reaches registeringpositions as to said devices successively upon the stepwise movement ofsaid carrier, and means for feeding reeds to said devices.

5. A machine for assembling the reeds to the slotted reed plates ofharmonicas, comprising a carrier member stepwise movable in a closedpath, at least two more holding means on said carrier than there arereed slots in the plates to be provided with reeds, each holding meansbeing adapted to receive therein one of said plates in a predeterminedposition and being spaced from another according to one step of saidcarrier movement, a plurality of stationarily located devices forattaching reeds to a plate, the number of said devices not exceeding thenumber of reed slots in each of the plates, said devices being operativeand arranged along the path of said carrier member and in cooperativerelation each to one of said holding means when said carrier member isat a standstill, and being staggered with respect to each other so as tobe in registry each with a diflerent one of the slots of a plate in aholder when the latter reaches registering positions as to said devicessuccessively upon the stepwise movement of said carrier, means forfeeding reeds .to said devices, and spaces for feeding and forwithdrawing plates respectively to and from holders which at astandstill of the carrier are not in registry with one of said devices.

6. A machine for assembling the reeds to the slotted reed plates ofharmonicas, comprising a stepwise movable dial serving as carriermember, at least two more holding means on said dial than there ar reedslots in the plates to be provided with reeds, each holding means beingadapted to receive therein one of said plates in a predeterminedposition and being angularly spaced from another according to one stepof said dial movement, a plurality of stationarily located devices notexceeding th number of reed slots in each of said plates, for attachingreeds to a'plate, said devices being operative and arranged along thepath of said holding means and in cooperative relation each to one ofsaid holding means when said carrier member is at a standstill, andbeing staggered in a radial direction with respect to the dial center soas to be in registry each with a different one of the slots of a. platein a holder when the latter reaches registering positions as to saiddevices successively upon the stepwise movement of said dial, and meansfor feeding reeds to said devices.

7. In a machine of the type described, means for holding a slotted reedplate in a predetermined position, a reciprocatable support movable in adirection transverse to the plane of a plate in said holder and adaptedto be passed with its supporting face from the one side of said platethrough one of its slots to its other side, means for placing a reed onsaid support, a counter member to press said reed against said support,means for moving said counter member and said support with said reedtherebetween so as to bring said reed into engagement with said plate,and means for securing said reed to said plate.

8. In a machine of the type described, a slotted bolster to receivethereon a slotted reed plate, means in connection with said bolster tohold said reed plate in a predetermined position so that a given slot ofsaid plate and a slot of said bolster register with each other, areciprocatable support movable in a direction transverse to the plane ofa plate on said bolster, a counter member opposite said support, meansfor feeding a strip of connected reeds so as to place one of the reedsbetween said support and said counter member, a cutter to sever said onereed from said strip, means for moving said counter member and saidsupport with said reed therebetween so as to bring said reed intoengagement with said plate, and means to secure the reed to said plate.

9. In a machine for assembling the reeds to the slotted reed plate of aharmonica, the combination of holding means to receive therein a platein a predetermined position, a reciprocatable support adapted to bemoved forward through one of the slots of a plate on said holder, areciprocatable counter member in opposition to said support, means tofeed a strip of connected reeds so as to plac the reed which is th firstone at a time between said support and said counter member, means tourge said counter member towards said support so as to clamp said firstreed against said support and to shift the support backward with saidreed thereon into engagement of the latter with said plate, and apunch-like member including a cutting edge and movable in the same senseas said counter member to sever the first reed from said strip and topress it upon said plat in order to secure it thereto, and means forreturning said support, said counter member and said punch-like memberinto their original posi- 1 tions.

10. In a machine of the type described, the combination of holding meansto receive therein a slotted reed plate in a predetermined position, areciprocatable support adapted to be moved forward through one of theslots of a plate in said holder, a press, a resilient counter member anda punch-like member arranged side by side and movable in the same senseagainst said support, said counter member and said punch-like memberbeing in operative connection with said press, and means for feeding astrip of connected reeds so as to place the reed which is the first oneof the strip at a tim between said counter member and said punch-likemember on the one side and said support on the other side, whereby, uponoperation of said press, said counter member will urge said first reedagainst the restraint of said support into engagement with said plateand said punch-like member will sever said first reed from said stripand press it against the plate in the holder so as to secure it thereto.

11. A method of assembling the reeds and slotted reed plates ofharmonicas comprising: moving a number of consecutive plates in apredetermined position in successive steps along a predetermined pathwherein the plates are spaced from each other a distance equal to onestep of their path, providing strips of reeds connected near theirroots, feeding simultaneously a number up to as many strips as there arereed slots in each of the plates, to as many places where plates arriveat the end of a step of their movement, cutting off one reed of eachstrip, applying the reed of each strip to a plate slot which is locatedin such plate differently from the slot to which the reed of anotherstrip is applied, securing the applied reeds to the plates respectively,advancing the number of plates at least one step,

and repeating the process of feeding, cutting, applying and securingreeds with respect to such plates which have not been provided with areed of each strip.

12. A method of assembling the reeds and slotted reed plates ofharmonicas comprising moving a number of consecutive plates in apredetermined position in successive steps along a predetermined pathwherein the plates are spaced from each other a distance equal to onestep of their path, providing strips of reeds connected near theirroots, feeding simultaneously a number up to as many strips as there arereed slots in. each of the plates, to as many places where plates arriveat'the end of a step of their movement, cutting off one reed of eachstrip simultaneously, applying the reed of each strip to a plate slotwhich is located in such plate difierently from the slot to which thereed of another strip is applied, advancing the number of plates onestep, repeating th process of feeding, cutting and applying of reedswith respect to such plates which have not been provided with a reed ofeach strip, and securing the reeds of one plate simultaneously after allreeds have been applied thereto.

CHARLES E. WETZLER. PAUL F. BOEI-IM.

